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Sometimes the most powerful words are the ones you’re still searching for. KAIROS PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS Language Arts Run Time: 127 min Genre: Family Drama Year: 2020 Language: English Country of Origin: United States Format: 4K, aspect ratio 1:1.78 SALES: Larry Estes, (206) 686-1572, larry@welbfilm.com MEDIA: Carol Roscoe, (206) 769-6148, [email protected] Language Arts Poster Files Trailer Website IMDB: Language Arts Press Images available here All photos credited to Annabel Clark Synopsis Logline: When a student proposes a project involving autistic youth and senior dementia patients, high school English teacher Charles Marlow must confront the indelible mark that autism has made on the story of his life. Short: It’s 1993, and high school English teacher Charles Marlow, (Ashley Zukerman) has spent decades shrinking from life, hiding away from the disappointments that have trailed him. When his student/protegé Romy (Aishe Keita) proposes a photojournalism project documenting collaborations between autistic youth and senior dementia patients, Charles tailspins into his past, through a series of interlocking timelines, confronting the errors of his youth. In a 1962 Seattle classroom, young Charles (Elliott Smith) befriends an autistic child, Dana (Lincoln Lambert), with shocking consequences. In the 1980s, Charles and his wife Alison (Sarah Shahi) struggle to comprehend their own child’s autism, resulting in the destruction of their marriage. Now, as his student confronts, head-on, the challenges of working with neuro-diverse individuals, Charles determines to deal with his haunting failures. Awkwardly, with many revisions, he sets about repairing his own story. Inspired by his student’s art, Charles learns to see the world around him anew, make peace with the errors of the past, and incorporate new ways of listening and connecting with the people he loves. Long: It’s 1993, and high-school English teacher Charles Marlow, (Ashley Zukerman) has spent decades shrinking from life, hiding away from the disappointments that have trailed him. Estranged from his ex-wife and his teenage autistic son, Charles avoids connecting with the outside world. But, when his student-protegé Romy (Aishe Keita) proposes a photojournalism project documenting collaborations between autistic youth and senior dementia patients, Charles tailspins into his past, confronting the errors of his youth. Though interlocking flashbacks and contemporary sequences, Charles collides with the forces and faces he has tried to pack away. In a progressive 1962 Seattle classroom, young Charles (Elliott Smith) befriends an autistic child, Dana (Lincoln Lambert). Their friendship offers a radical transformation for both of them, as both Charles and Dana learn to communicate in new ways with the world around them. However, their relationship draws the attention of two school bullies, with shocking consequences. The experience haunts Charles, as a young father in the 1980s. Charles and his wife Alison (Sarah Shahi) grapple with their own child’s autism in wildly divergent ways. Their inability to work together results in the destruction of their marriage. Now, as his student confronts, head-on, the challenges of working with neuro-diverse individuals, Charles determines to deal with his haunting failures. Inspired by his student’s art, Charles learns to see the world around him anew, make peace with the errors of the past, and incorporate new ways of listening and connecting with the people he loves. Photo: Ashley Zukerman as Charles Marlow. Director’s Statement My connection to Stephanie Kallos and her beautiful novel runs deep. Our families have known each other for decades, and that friendship partly drove my desire to adapt Language Arts for the screen. Loving and raising a child with autism is central to this story, and to my story as well. Everyone struggles with something on this planet. No one gets off unscathed. We all have something we have to lean into and fight through everyday. As a filmmaker, you must ground your story in something real. For me, Language Arts was grounded in my own experience of parenting a child with autism, of seeing marriages end and transform, and of witnessing profound changes in loved ones. Independent movies take years to make, and you never know how many movies you have left in you. So, the story you choose has to really grab you; it has to take you over. Language Arts took me over. For me, it was important to be able to tell this story with truth, complexity, and emotional vulnerability. I was blessed to find extraordinary actors and crew. Every individual on our set brought their heart to work every day, and several of them had a personal connection to autism. My heart is in this film, in a literal way. My family worked on set, and it’s dedicated to my children. To have them in the film, and to share this story with the world, fills me with deep gratitude. My mentor Madeleine L’Engle wrote “if we limit ourselves to the age we are, and forget all the ages we have been, we limit our truth.” In Language Arts, our protagonist confronts all the ages he has been, and so is able to move into his truth. That inspires me, and I hope it inspires you as well. - Cornelia Duryée Language Arts Credits A Kairos Production LANGUAGE ARTS ASHLEY ZUKERMAN SARAH SHAHI ELLIOTT SMITH LINCOLN LAMBERT ERIN CUMMINGS MARIANA KLAVENO JANE RYAN SUZANNE BOUCHARD KIERAN WALTON with KEVIN ALEJANDRO and PAMELA REED Casting RICHARD PAGANO C.S.A. Costume Designer RONALD LEAMON Production Designer RACHEL M. THOMSON Editor ROSSANA GOMES Music by BC SMITH Director of Photography ALISA TYRRILL Associate Producer VICKY BERGLUND-DAVENPORT Co-Producer RANDY SUHR Executive Producers RICH COWAN STEPHANIE KALLOS Produced by LARRY ESTES, p.g.a. Screenplay by CORNELIA DURYÉE Based on the novel by STEPHANIE KALLOS Directed by CORNELIA DURYÉE Photo: Sarah Shahi as Alison, Kieran Walton as Cody. Cast and Crew Cast Crew Ashley Zukerman as Charles Directed by Cornelia Duryée Sarah Shahi as Alison Screenplay by Cornelia Duryée Elliott Smith as Charlie Based on the novel by Stephanie Kallos Lincoln Lambert as Dana Produced by Larry Estes, p.g.a. Erin Cummings as Rita Executive Producers Rich Cowan, Stephanie Mariana Klaveno as Sylvie Kallos Jane Ryan as Mrs. Braxton Director of Photography Alisa Tyrrill Suzanne Bouchard as Eulalie Music by BC Smith Kevin Alejandro as Bruce Production Designer Rachel Thomson Pamela Reed as Sister Giorgia Costume Designer Ron Leamon Lucas Oktay as Mitchell Editor Rossana Gomes Kieran Walton as Cody Co-Producer Randy Suhr Basil Harris as Garrett Associate Producer Vicky Berglund-Davenport Aishe Keita as Romy Casting by Richard Pagano C.S.A. About the Filmmakers PRODUCER Larry Estes was named “Hollywood’s Quiet Godfather of the Offbeat Film” by The New York Times. As a ColumbiaTriStar Executive, his films include Steven Soderbergh’s SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE, Allison Anders’ GAS FOOD LODGING, Carl Franklin’s ONE FALSE MOVE (co-starring and co-written by Billy Bob Thornton), John Sayles’ CITY OF HOPE and PASSION FISH, Neal Jimenez & Michael Steinberg’s THE WATERDANCE, Bobcat Goldthwait’s SHAKES THE CLOWN, and John Turturro’s MAC, among others. Since becoming an Independent Producer, five more of his films have premiered at Sundance, four of those in dramatic competition, including Sherman Alexie’s SMOKE SIGNALS, and THE BUSINESS OF FANCYDANCING. He served as Executive Producer of THE HEART OF THE GAME, and he has produced five feature films with Kairos Productions. WRITER/DIRECTOR Cornelia Duryée began as a playwright and stage director, but it was her relationship with Madeleine L'Engle that led her into the world of film, when L’Engle invited her to adapt several of her novels and plays for the screen. Corrie’s films include THE DARK HORSE, CAMILLA DICKINSON, WEST OF REDEMPTION, PORTAL RUNNER, and LANGUAGE ARTS. Corrie served as Executive Producer for cult favorite JOURNEYQUEST Season 1, as a producer of JOURNEYQUEST Season 2, and as a casting director for THE GAMERS: DORKNESS RISING, as well as working on many other Seattle film and theater productions, including co-founding Seattle Shakespeare Company, and serving as Casting Director for Thalia’s Umbrella. Cornelia is in the continual process of writing and developing numerous projects for Kairos. She is now in pre-production for a 2020 feature film shoot in Washington State. NOVELIST Stephanie Kallos was born in Idaho and grew up in Nebraska. Before coming out of the closet as a writer, she had a varied work history, which included many years as a musician, and a long career in the theater as an actress and teacher of voice, speech, and dialects. Her short fiction has received two Raymond Carver Awards and a Pushcart Prize nomination. Her first novel, BROKEN FOR YOU, was published in 2004; it was chosen by Sue Monk Kidd as a TODAY SHOW book club selection, and received the Washington State and PNBA Book Awards. Her second novel, SING THEM HOME, was published in 2009; a Pacific NW Independent Booksellers bestseller, it was selected for Iowa’s “All Iowa Reads” program and named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the 10 Best Books of 2009. Her third novel, LANGUAGE ARTS, was published in 2015. Stephanie lives with her family in a north Seattle neighborhood which has no sidewalks and looks very much like a small town. Sightings of men in kilts are common. Happily distracting her from writing are numerous unfinished knitting projects, a doe-eyed Labrador named Mr. Nick Tumnus, an extremely vocal tabby cat named Sydney Australia, and her raucous family of men. Stephanie is a proud member of Seattle7Writers and its offshoot band, The Rejections. She is currently at work on a short story collection and her fourth novel.